FOUNDATIONS REVEALED COMPETITION ENTRY
Rhine Falls at night
(click images to to enlarge)
Outline the story …
It was my 26th birthday. My husband took me put for a fancy dinner at 'Schloss Laufen', a castle which was turned into a restaurant and sits at the very top of the Rhein falls in Schaffhausen, switzerland. It was a cold, wintry night, snow flakes were falling and the garden of the castle was glowing with christmas trees and the snow reflecting the lights. But the most magical view was the one onto the Rhine Falls. The river itself was dark, but when the water was falling down, parts of it were shining in light blue and white lights. The artificial illumination was hidden so well, it looked almost like the moon had dropped into the water and was now shining onto the water from below. I knew I had to turn this view into a dress one day... When the theme "the natural world" was released, I knew that this was the perfect excuse to finally make my 'Rhine Falls at night' evening dress.
I wanted the dress itself to be a very dark blue, but still with some texture to it, to represent the torrential river flowing down in its bed before it crashes down over the rocks. The swirls flowing above the rocks and at the bottom of the Rhine Falls should be represented by lots of swirls at the bottom of the dress, starting at knee length.
Outline the construction…
I started my construction with a corset. I used a heavy, but cheaper fabric I still had in my stash, fishbone tape for the XX boning channels and synthetic whale bone. The design is based on the deep-plunge corset, for which Barbara had once shared a pattern on her instagram channel. I used the outlines as orientation and drafted a similar pattern to my size.
For the dress itself I cut out four full length pannels from a stretchy, dark blue velvet. I sewed the parts together from the bottom up to the hips, where the panels would start wrapping around the corset base. I then attached the front and the back, where I connected both layers with the zipper. For the two remaining side seams I put the dress on and used pins to mark where they would have to join and where they needed to be attached to the corset at the top.
Now, with all my must-haves done, I started working on the water swirls. I SO underestimated the time that would take! I first experimented to find the right diameter to get the desired length. Each swirly element consists of ten organza spirals, two of each shade of blue, starting with almost white in the center. Each had to be cut out, the edges burnt against fraying, and sewed onto the dress by hand according to my thread marks. I managed to get the centee back done, the rest will follow after the competition.
I love the structural waves on your skirt are beautiful, its also a lovely fit on the dress.
Those waves are just breathtaking !! Love the blue velvet as well